Gillian Wagner
British writer and philanthropist (1927–2025)
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Dame Gillian Mary Millicent Wagner (née Graham; 25 October 1927 – 31 December 2025) was a British writer, philanthropist and social administrator, who was the first woman chair of the children’s charity Barnardo's, the Thomas Coram Foundation and the Carnegie Trust.[1] She published biographical and historical works, as well as reports on social care.[2][3]
25 October 1927
Dame Gillian Wagner | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Gillian Mary Millicent Graham 25 October 1927 London, England |
| Died | 31 December 2025 (aged 98) |
| Occupation | Writer and philanthropist |
| Nationality | British |
Early life and education
Gillian Mary Millicent Graham was born in London on 25 October 1927,[4] the daughter of Major Henry Archibald Roger Graham and Hon. Margaret Beatrice Lopes. She was educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College and the University of Geneva, and later did a diploma in social administration at the London School of Economics, and subsequently a Ph.D.[5] Her doctoral thesis was titled Dr Barnardo and the Charity Organisation Society: A reassessment of the Arbitration Case of 1877 (OCLC 500584755).[6]
Works and themes
Her 1979 biography of Thomas Barnardo was described in a Medical History review as the "first frank account of [his] character and career";[7] while a reviewer in Seventeenth-Century News called her book Thomas Coram, Gent. "a much-needed biography of this early pioneer of children’s charity".[8] Her book, Miss Palmer's Diary (LCCN 2018-411229) was a biography of her ancestor, Ellen Palmer.[5]
Death
Wagner died on 31 December 2025, at the age of 98.[9]
Publications
- The Camera and Dr Barnardo (with Valerie Lloyd), 1974, National Portrait Gallery Publications, ISBN 0904017125
- Barnardo, 1979, Littlehampton Book Services, ISBN 0297775618
- Children of the Empire, 1982, Littlehampton Book Services, ISBN 0297780476
- The Chocolate Conscience, 1987, Chatto & Windus, ISBN 070112475X
- Thomas Coram, Gent.: 1668–1751, 2015, Boydell Press, ISBN 9781783270606
- Miss Palmer's Diary, 2017, I.B. Tauris, ISBN 1788310063
Reports
- A Positive Choice (Independent Review of Residential Care): A Guide to the Wagner Report 1988, National Institute for Social Work, ASIN B001NTUWO6
- Residential Care, Vol. 2: The Research Reviewed (with the National Institute for Social Care) 1988, Stationery Office Books, ISBN 0117010634
- Training for Social Care: Achieving Standards for the Undervalued Service, 1998, Policy Studies Institute, ISBN 1900909022